Austrian composer Joseph Haydn is recognized as a dominant force in the development of Classical music. Born in 1732 in the village of Rohrau, near Vienna, at age eight he was accepted into the choir school of Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where he received his only formal education. In 1761 Haydn was appointed assistant music director to Prince Pál Antal Esterházy; and a year later became full director. Haydn served under the patronage of three successive princes of the Esterházy family. The second of these, Prince Miklós József, was an ardent music lover. At Esterháza, his vast summer estate, Prince Miklós could boast a musical establishment second to none, the management of which made immense demands on its director. Haydn composed symphonies, operas, marionette operettas, masses, chamber pieces, and dance music for the prince's entertainment. After 1779 Haydn was permitted to sell his music to publishers and accept commissions, and his work began reaching a wider audience. After the death of Prince Miklós in 1790, Haydn was free to travel beyond the environs of Vienna. Two concerts given in England produced several of his most popular works, including Surprise (No. 94) and London (No. 104). In his later years in Vienna, Haydn turned to writing masses and composed his great oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801). From this period also comes his Emperor's Hymn (1797), which later became the Austrian national anthem. Haydn was prolific in nearly all genres, vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular. Dramatic surprise, often turned to humorous effect, is characteristic of his style, as is a fondness for folklike melodies. Haydn died in 1809.